Paul Niedzwiecki and Peter Kenney say they like each other. They even said it in public March 25, at a pre-town meeting session in Yarmouth at which they debated the town’s withdrawal from the Cape Commission.

Niedzwiecki, the Commission’s executive director, said the land-use agency is shifting from a reactive regulator to a proactive planning partner for economic development and asked for “a little more time.” Chief critic Kenney, who helped lead the effort to put the withdrawal question on Yarmouth’s May 6 ballot, said the Commission has failed to stop sprawl and has blocked businesses that would have eased the tax burden for local taxpayers.

Yarmouth contributes $207,000 to the annual upkeep of the Commission. Should the town succeed in getting the blessing of the state Legislature to allow it to withdraw, that sum would not go into the municipal budget but would be retained by taxpaying residents.

And in a year when Yarmouth is facing tax levy limit overrides and a stagnant business tax base, economics alone may convince some homeowners to vote against the Commission.

Niedzwiecki, who as assistant town manager in Barnstable helped create a Growth Incentive Zone that gave the town more control over its own development, said, “I know as well as anyone on the peninsula how to get out of the Cape Cod Commission, or if it’s possible.” He said long talks with the late Bob Smith, Barnstable town attorney and the acknowledged dean of municipal lawyers in Massachusetts, convinced him that it was better to work with the Commission.

The executive director said he had held up release of an updated Regional Policy Plan to ensure that it expressed the primacy of planning over regulation, and that the RPP should be available this summer. Other reforms in the works include limited DRI review, pared down to just a few parameters based on specific projects; map-based resource planning, in consort with the towns, to identify areas to protect and areas in which to grow; and better upfront information to project proponents on mitigation costs.

Most striking is a plan to increase thresholds for development review from 10,000 square feet as high as 60,000 square feet for mixed-use buildings in economic centers that have the necessary infrastructure.

Should Yarmouth vote to withdraw on May 6, Niedzwiecki said, one thing is clear: “We all start paying lawyers instead of planners.” Then he added, “Regardless of the vote, I will not turn my back on this town. We will continue to do the work that needs to be done here.”

Kenney, who said he had hoped Niedzwiecki would take the job he’s now held for six months, slammed the Commission nevertheless for fussing over minor matters such as the removal of an historically inappropriate addition to an old apothecary in South Yarmouth while the town’s economy suffered.

He said the town can carry on its work, including development of the Growth Incentive Zone and creation of others, without the burden and cost of the regional agency.

Of Niedzwiecki, Kenney said, “I trust him and respect him,” but he was caustic about the absence that night of the three county commissioners, the 15 members of the county Assembly of Delegates, and the 19 members of the Cape Cod Commission. “One person doesn’t make that much of a difference,” he said.

Billy Snowden, former owner of the Asa Bearse House and the Coyote restaurant in Hyannis, spoke as an “early supporter of the Commission.” Now a farmer in Yarmouth, he said it’s time to “pare down” the agency by returning it to its roots as the non-regulatory Cape Cod Economic Development and Planning Commission.

(Later on, Niedzwiecki said there are fewer people at the Commission now than there were in 2001)Snowden, a former Dennis selectman, excoriated Niedzwiecki for making what he called a “veiled threat” regarding litigation and declared, “There is absolutely nothing that you provide us in services that we cannot do ourselves.”

Peter Smith, president of the Yarmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, laid out criticisms and compliments for the Commission, noting especially the “bright spot” of Niedzwiecki’s appointment. Adding a little suspense, he said the 450 members of the Chamber are being polled on the ballot question and promised to share the results in April.